Abstract: Disclosed are interlocking elongate composite bamboo industrial mats having an upper layer with two or more elongate laminated composite bamboo panels, an intermediate layer with a plurality of elongate laminated composite bamboo panels arranged in parallel and perpendicular to the laminated composite bamboo panels in the upper layer, and a bottom layer with a plurality of elongate laminated composite bamboo panels arranged in parallel to the upper layer. The three layers are secured together with fasteners consisting of a bolt, an outward-facing concave washer engaged with the bolt head, and a sleeve nut having an outward-facing washer engaged with the sleeve nut head. The interlocking elongate composite bamboo industrial mats are configured to interlock end-to-end or alternatively, side-to-side. Each of the elongate laminated composite bamboo panels comprises a plurality of kiln-dried glue-dipped elongate asymmetrically fractured bamboo strips compressed into a solid panel devoid of air spaces.

Abstract: A rig mat frame has at least two longitudinal frame members and at least two lateral frame members defining a deck insert opening therebetween. Each longitudinal frame member has a C-shaped channel facing the deck insert opening and extending along the length of the longitudinal frame member. At least one C-shaped channel has a longitudinally extending flange with a channel opening providing access into the C-shaped channel. A flange panel is removably fastened to the frame and closes the channel opening when the flange panel is fastened to the frame. A plurality of deck inserts are disposed within the frame and extend across the deck insert opening with the ends of each deck insert disposed in the C-shaped channels. And each of the plurality of deck inserts is removable from the C-shaped channels when the deck insert is positioned in alignment with the channel opening and the flange panel is disconnected from the frame.

Abstract: In a cardiographic apparatus (10), a plurality of electrodes (16) are configured for operative connection with a subject (14). A cardiograph (12, 12?, 12?) is connected with the plurality of electrodes to acquire cardiographic data. A respiratory gate (20, 22, 26, 36, 46, 50, 52, 54) is configured to identify end expiration periods or other quiescent respiratory periods so as to generate a cardiographic dataset (30) limited to the identified end-expiration periods from cardiographic data acquired by the cardiograph at least during the identified end expiration periods.

Abstract: A rig mat frame has at least two longitudinal frame members and at least two lateral frame members defining a deck insert opening therebetween. Each longitudinal frame member has a C-shaped channel facing the deck insert opening and extending along the length of the longitudinal frame member. At least one C-shaped channel has a longitudinally extending flange with a channel opening providing access into the C-shaped channel. A flange panel is removably fastened to the frame and closes the channel opening when the flange panel is fastened to the frame. A plurality of deck inserts are disposed within the frame and extend across the deck insert opening with the ends of each deck insert disposed in the C-shaped channels. And each of the plurality of deck inserts is removable from the C-shaped channels when the deck insert is positioned in alignment with the channel opening and the flange panel is disconnected from the frame.

Abstract: In a cardiographic apparatus (10), a plurality of electrodes (16) are configured for operative connection with a subject (14). A cardiograph (12, 12?, 12?) is connected with the plurality of electrodes to acquire cardiographic data. A respiratory gate (20, 22, 26, 36, 46, 50, 52, 54) is configured to identify end expiration periods or other quiescent respiratory periods so as to generate a cardiographic dataset (30) limited to the identified end-expiration periods from cardiographic data acquired by the cardiograph at least during the identified end expiration periods.

Abstract: A technique of detecting repeating patterns of anomalous intramyocardial Wenckebach electrical activity in a patient is provided. The method of the technique deals with determining the presence or absence of such intramyocardial anomaly by processing signals that are electrical potential signals which include a cardiac component and a respiratory component. The method includes estimating the respiratory component (preferably by a regression curve-fitting technique based on data of the electrical potential signals and data of respiratory signals), finding the difference between the electrical potential and the estimated respiratory component and based on this difference inferring the presence of absence of the intramyocardial anomaly.

Abstract: An apparatus for determining the respiratory effort of a patient is disclosed. The apparatus includes a device for acquiring electrocardiographic (ECG) signal (e.g., conventional electrocardiogram (ECG) signal) that contains pure cardiac signal and respiratory muscle tremor (RMT) signal. The apparatus also includes a processor for processing the ECG signal. The processor includes a filter to filter the ECG signal for reducing the cardiac signal, a device for determining a waveform representing the magnitude of the oscillations in the filtered ECG signal, and a mechanism for smoothing spikes in the waveform. The resulting waveform is related to the respiratory muscle tremor, which is related to the respiratory effort. The estimation of the respiratory effort is derived entirely from the ECG signal.

Abstract: An intramyocardial activity detector for detecting repeating patterns of irregular intramyocardial Wenckebach activity in the heart of a patient is provided. The apparatus includes a mechanism measuring electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from the body, a mechanism for measuring respiratory signals from the body, and a processor electrically associated with the two mechanisms means for measuring to determine the presence of intramyocardial Wenckebach activity of two or more phases. The processor calculates Wenckebach basis function strengths that indicate the presence of voltage in the measured ECG signals caused by repeating patterns of irregular intramyocardial Wenckebach activity via a relationship that describes the measured ECG signals as comprising Wenckebach input being additive to respiratory interference.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for the filtering of signals collected during a period that includes a quiet ("signal-free") epoch and an event epoch is disclosed. The apparatus includes a means for generating electrical digitized signals of the event episode, memory for receiving and storing the digitized signals of the event episode, an event detector for determining the event epoch and the quiet epoch of the event episode in the digitized signals, a spectrum analyzer to analyze the power spectrum of the digitized signals of at least one event episode, an estimator to estimate electromagnetic interference (EMI) based on the digitized signals of the quiet epoch and the frequencies obtained in the spectral analysis; and a subtractor to subtract the estimated EMI from the digitized signals of the event epoch. The resulting signals are signals of the event epoch with reduced EMI.

Abstract: An electromagnetic shielding garment comprising amorphous alloy strips or strands woven together. The woven material or sheet can be reenforced by bonding it to a flexible material such as plastic. This garment is effective in shielding a patient from extraneous electromagnetic radiation to allow sensitive medical measurements to be taken with minimal interference.

Abstract: A compact, cardiac analyzer system provides for monitoring physiological indicators of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, autonomic fluctuations and ischemia. When any of these "indicators" is detected, a full complement of ECG data is recorded from a subject for subsequent analysis. In the absence of these indicators, only a minimal complement of ECG data is recorded. The system includes a first set of ECG electrode sets, from which the data are recorded only during REM sleep, extreme autonomic drive fluctuations, or ischemia, and a second set of ECG electrode sets, from which the data are constantly recorded. A set of electromagnetic interference sensors is used to assess environmental noise levels so that corrupted data can be rejected or purified. During REM sleep, autonomic drive fluctuations provide a setting for assessing the variability of fractionated potentials in subjects susceptible to sudden cardiac death.